The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is rightly considered one of the best games in the history of the art form, but many edgy hipsters think that its sort-of sequel The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is in fact a preferable experience if you can blinking believe it. We can because the three of us involved in the video above are just original enough to have this mad kind of opinion, and yes our Myspace profiles were mostly black and red now that you mention it.
As we explain in the video above it's hard to argue that Majora's Mask is an inherently better game than Ocarina of Time. Ocarina had all the classic fantasy narrative, the original character designs, the bizarre obsession with entering the bodies of large, semi-legendary creatures, it's all a superb rollercoaster of thrills and excitement with a well-rounded conclusion. Majora's Mask is more like an avant-garde Hungarian short film about the illegal taxidermy trade in comparison, but damn it if we don't we want to learn more about this dark and grizzled underground commerce.
But you're welcome to disagree, and whatever side of the argument you land on let us know why and how with a comment in the standard location.
Comments (106)
Well, I mean, Majora's Mask is my favorite game of all time, so, I'm not gonna argue. <3
Ok Both OOT and majora are well received but I definitely recommend grabbing a fire extinguisher.
Just in case.
Majora is better than ocarina. Ocarina, while a great game, really doesn’t have much to do other than the main quest. I don’t get invested in the people. Majora has less dungeons but feels bigger than ocarina. It feels like there is more to do. I care about clock town, the Gorons, zora, and deku. Plus I think that the areas to explore outside of dungeons are much more interesting.
Majoras mask 1
Ocarina of time 2.
This isn't even a bold or hot take anymore, this is such a common opinion that saying you prefer OoT is considered an unpopular opinion now.
Prefer Ocarina of Time tbh. Especially with how much I know it inside out because of the randomizer. Could never really get into Majora the same way.
i think they fit well as companion pieces. N64 was better with both of them rather than just 1 of them, regardless of which one
It's been years since "Ocarina Of Time is the best Zelda" stopped being such a unanimously agreed-upon opinion so there are definitely a lot more people going around saying Majora's Mask is the better title
Not that I don't agree but it's definitely not as much of an "edgy hipster opinion" as it used to be.
I no see no sense in arguing either side. They are both great games so just live that way.
Majora’s mask is my 3rd favorite Zelda game, after Breath of the Wild and Link’s Awakening.
Still 10/10 though.
It’s hard to pick just one, but Majora is so unbelievably impactful and compelling. Ocarina paved the way for 3D Zelda, but Majora hit me emotionally in a way no game really has since.
I want to like Majora, but my main gripe is that it goes against the ethos of casual exploration that most other Zelda games embrace.
Miyazaki has even said that the games were inspired by his explorations of forests and caves as a child.
I realize this will be an unpopular opinion, but because of the time limit in Majora, it never felt the same as other Zelda games.
I understand MM is a great game... but it is actually one of my least favorite Zelda titles. The gameplay felt reputative to me. The game itself felt like it was constantly pushing forward a little faster than I actually wanted to play. I get the urgency in the story and liked the sense of despair, but still I felt a little too rushed. I also hated all of the bosses except of Majora itself.
To me Alttp is the best in the series.
Ocarina is the one you play for fun. Majora is the one you play for catharsis.
Never played either of them at their time of release so I hold no nostalgia. I played remakes and felt nothing... Now Windwaker is something special.
Majora's Mask is the concept art game that actually made it. Its ideas with time travel and masks are super unique, thankfully it survived the cutting room floor that many Nintendo games get trapped into. After the recent leaks, it's really sad to hear how many experimental hardware-pushing games that Nintendo has unreleased behind their vault. In a terrible parallel universe, Majora's Mask never came out because it was too weird and hard to program.
Eh...pacing is very important in videogames. Ocarina was perfect in that regard, and why I think it's a better game. MM obviously had no pacing since you controlled the pace. That didn't sit well with me. And while it may have more things to do and interesting/weird stuff, it's not as memorable as Ocarina. Literally everything in Ocarina was memorable. It had SO much charm to it and felt like a real labor of love.
@appleseedeon I do prefer keeping a gutter line.
Both are utterly amazing...
...but Link to the Past was better than both.
I think Majora's Mask is ultimately better, but we'll see what I think after my inevitable replay on NSO.
Having just replayed Ocarina of Time twice on the service, I admit I might've underrated it all these years. (Well, compared to Majora's Mask.) Its grasp of flow and pacing — unless you get stuck trying to get into Jabu-Jabu or whatever — is peerless in the franchise. And its succession of dungeons is like popping in a great album. Majora's Mask doesn't really match that — though, of course, it does other amazing things instead.
They're both great in their own ways, but my preference will always be OoT. It really feels like you're going on an epic Lord of the Rings type quest, whereas Majora feels more like a smaller scale side story, which it kinda is.
I think its not inherently about whether Majora's Mask is better as much as most of the things I like specifically about OOT are done at least as well in other Zelda games. That's not as true about Majora's Mask which is still one of a kind for the series.
Though let's be honest, part of the reason Majora's Mask wasn't as beloved at launch as OOT was that its easier to not know what to do or how to do it in parts of MM, and thus the first playthrough can be far more annoying than later ones. (I got stuck on one thing in OOT, while I needed a guide for quite a few things in MM) But then in replaying them you know what you're doing, and thus MM is better in hindsight while OOT at best, is the same. That's my theory anyway, checks out for me.
@Medic_Alert
The 3DS Majora's Mask version is way more accessible imo and the quality of life improvements are great.
Both are great games and the portable versions were great updates. I hope a HD version of both games will come to Switch at some point.
Beautiful story, interesting characters.
Only 4 dungeons and 2 of them suck.
Better story, worse game.
@ttyler1999 - I completely agree with you, I wanted to relax, take my time and just couldn't. Well, maybe I could've, but the time thing always played on my mind.
OOT was my first Zelda. It's the reason I bought a 3DS and was the game that totally sold me on Nintendo, after always (wrongly, obviously) thinking Ninty were childish.
The first Zelda I played was Windwaker, and I really loved it. After that I played Ocarina, and just could not get into and still can't, but Majora was absolutely amazing. It had a much smaller scope than Ocarina, but felt so much fuller. Every square inch was just filled with so much stuff and everything seemed to have an overarching connection.
@blindsquarel It's smaller in scope, so they could put more time and effort into the world design and ambience. It just feels fuller and more alive, imo.
Well Ocarina of Time is the journey and Majora's Mask is just the side-quest so it doesn't really matter which one anyone prefer. Some people just like their adventure short and sweet while some like their adventure massive and epic. I love A Link to the Past and my brother love Link's Awakening, both share similar assets but he doesn't look down on A Link to the Past just cause he enjoy Link's Awakening more.
Someone is trying to be edgy!
Little challenge for your: try to enjoy them both for their respective qualities instead of choosing a winner.
Ocarina of time, Majora's mask, A link to the past, A link between worlds, Wind waker and BOTW are all perfect games in their own way. And nobody cares which one you prefer. The only thing we can agree on, is that Triforce heroes sucks.
I love both but I like the darkness, eeriness and edge of Majora's Mask.
Well that’s like your opinion man!
@Friendly Except Link's awakening is a 2D Zelda. You should try a link to the past and a link between worlds. They are infinitely better 2D Zelda's than Link's awakening
what is this, 2003? These are the two biggest camps in the core Zelda fanbase, alongside the LttP contingent.
"Let yourself fail if you need to. You learn a lot more from a mistake than you do from a success."
@AlexOlney
I still haven't gotten around to playing MM. I'm not that huge into older Zelda games, especially the old 3D ones. I wasn't a big fan of OoT but I'm looking to try out MM eventually.
@SNESDisney this must've been building up for a while, huh
Both games are great in their own right. I do prefer OoT myself because the time limit and losing stuff upon a time reset in MM is really annoying and OoT will always be that special Zelda game to me. Again though both are great and both are eligible for being some of the greatest games in the series.
Though I'll say I have trouble replaying MM after my first full playthrough of it on 3DS. While I've finished OoT multiple times in the past.
I do too but I don't make a big deal out of it or anything. As far as hot takes go this one really isn't all that out there.
Well, that's like your opinion man.
I prefer Ocarina.
Hard agree.
Majora’s Mask still sits in my rotating top three zeldas.
Not sure why Nintendo isn't releasing ports of the 3DS versions instead of this.
Gameplay-wise, Ocarina of Time for N64 is horrible.
Agreed. It's better all around. I remember being on the fence about it back in the day and then I saw Deku Link and I bought it 15 mins later.
I don´t have fun playing 3d-adventure games. So....Zelda Ocarina or Majora´s Mask...I don´t care about these games. I know these games are famous and have a lot of fans....but unfortunatly i don´t like both...
You’re high if you think that game is better than OOT
Luckily, I'm not one of those edgy hipsters.
@iLikeUrAttitude Yeah but Windwaker is still a kiddy kid's game.
Just kidding.
I actually loved it from the first time I saw it.
Have to agree, Ocarina of Time set up an amazing template, but Majora's Mask is so quirky and out of the norm that I can't help but love it more. I love it when games try something new and fresh, and there really hasn't been another game like it since. I would love an expanded on Majora's Mask style Zelda game.
They compliment each other perfectly.
Ocarina of Time is the definitive Zelda adventure, setting up Majora's Mask to subvert it.
I used to be in the Majora is better blah blah blah and then I replayed Ocarina on 3DS and realized, Ocarina is a perfect game. It’s a perfect introduction to not just Zelda but video games, as it teaches you everything along the way. But Majora is still my FAVORITE.
My closest analogy is Raiders of the Lost Ark is from top to bottom a perfect film by Last Crusade is my favorite Indy movie.
I played OoT for the first time in 2015 (on the N64, not 3DS), and I gotta say... I don't really think it holds up if you didn't play it in its original context.
Horribly dated graphics aside, the game has really weak combat and poor overall controls, is overloaded with repetitive fetch quests, and has dungeons that are either uninspired (e.g., the Shadow Temple) or theoretically interesting but just really frustrating in execution (Water Temple being the prime example).
I will say I really enjoyed the Spirit Temple (and it made me wish they had used the time-travel mechanic much more widely throughout) and the Gerudo Valley theme may be the best Zelda music ever written, but aside from those bright spots, the game was not great - probably a 6 out of 10 for me.
I haven't played Majora's Mask on N64, so I can't do a perfect comparison, but I really enjoyed it on 3DS.
think the headline/video title here is a little ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as having a meltdown over someone thinking majora's mask is better than OOT (let alone giving someone the business for having an emotional attachment to a game, which literally everyone who plays games has had at least once)
for what it's worth, they're both fine games, they just do different things. both are still better than wind waker by virtue of not having a needlessly tedious overworld
I have never finished MM. Maybe this time I can.
I love them both personally, glad they both exist even if I prefer Majora's Mask.
It’s my favorite 3D Zelda, and second favorite zelda all time. That said, it’s not as polished as ocarina in comparison. Majora can be pretty sloppy and obtuse at times, but that comes with the territory of being such an off the game. Have to just accept whatever collateral damage is there. Majora gang forever
@SNESDisney dude (dudette?), go make war with someone else, I acknowledge your frustration with people who are greedy with overrepresentation, but in terms of content creators, & yes, forum contributors, the CORE enthusiasts highlight Majora's Mask. & judging by sales as well.....well let's not do that because of all the remasters, it seems SS HD the "worst" remake of the worst 3d Zelda (perhaps worst mainline Zelda), is on track to resell the most.
@Franklin Like GOB & you!!
@Rhaoulos 3d as in ‘third’ . Link’s awakening is that high up on my list probably because of nostalgia. It was my first zelda ever.
For its time, Ocarina was a 10.
But Majora was an 11. Crazy spectacular.
The passage of time has decreased the significance & uniqueness of OoT but it has actually increased that of MM.
While Ocarina/Majora's Mask were pioneers and have earned their place in gaming history, they have long since been trumped by too many modern games.
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are my two favorite games of all time. I can't choose between either of them. It's like apples to oranges.
I just lump them together now, especially seeing how Majora's Mask was originally going to be an expansion to Ocarina of Time. They were supposed to be one game, so I think it's a fair point to like them equally 😏
Where's the poll? Majora's Mask all the way.
Between you and I, you're probably wrong 🙃
Absolutely true. But let’s not pretend it would have been possible without the orbital massive impact its predecessor had. Ocarina of Time is unquestionably a masterpiece and one of the most important, significant, revolutionary, enjoyable, and truly classic games every made. Majora is better though.
Eh I dislike both Majora's and BoTW but still find Zelda 2 one of the best.
Majora's Mask sucks!
@UglyCasanova
Zelda 2 and ALttP are the best Zelda games!
Come on. It's the Groundhog Day of video games. It's genius. Nintendo could have just made another Ocarina of Time it was so good...but they came up with a new concept (y'know, like how they do. Bless em.)
I love Majora‘s Mask. Interestingly I had forgotten how great Ocarina, too, is, until I replayed it some years ago. So… no idea which is better 🤷♂️ But Majora is so unique.
OOT had 8 dungeons (plus two mini dungeons and the castle) - MM had 4 dungeons (plus the Moon).
Case closed!
I could not get into MM. When I play a Zelda game I want to play as Link. Not Deku Link, or Zora Link, or Goron Link. That being said, I am going to give it another try on NSO.
@BongoBongo what an immensely simplistic metric by which to judge quality. Great Going!
@SNESDisney
"Why continue to write these pieces for people who weren't even born when the game released"
It's because the game is about to be released on NSO.
Well I'll put it this way. OoT is an all time classic for me, while MM is probably one of my lowest rated Zelda games.
Majora is more complete. It’s Zelda mechanic being the masks combined with the other Zelda mechanic being the songs makes it more of an overall package than ocarina was. I definitely feel like ocarina is just dungeon hopping, your 8 dungeons gets the same or less playtime vs majora due to the interest in exploration with things AND experiences to find and investment in the planning around the clock. “What can I do this cycle?” Creates such a bond between the game and the player that is hard to match in ocarina and is still a monumental relation that games hardly get down today. It’s more about shoving so much into one game with no sense of cohesion that you have objectives in games that just add nothing or just waste time, but filling time is all people want from their games now whether it was time wasted or well spent is unrelated as long as play time passed it counts as “content”
Overall purdy gud thx
Yeah, for me Ocarina is the Third best Zelda game, below Majora's and Twilight
I mean I can understand preferring one over the other, but why trash the other? This is just juvenile.
I think OOT has stronger story content and a better looking overworld, and MM has a really creative story for Zelda standards as well as a good amount of side content via masks/heart pieces. OOT wins out for the story content for me personally, I think MM would win if it had three or four more dungeons.
Personally I think it would have been better if Nintendo scrapped MM on the N64 and fully developed it as the Gamecube's first Zelda instead.
Majora's Mask is a polished Ocarina of Time. There's nothing that was significantly worse about it, except maybe the difficulty curve.
Majora’s Mask VS Ocarina of Time? When I first played it, I was confused and I didn’t finish it, but over the years and with the 3DS remake. I have to say that it’s a way better and it’s less annoying. It’s just quirky. I like quirky. Ocarina kind of ticked me off with that water level.
@SNESDisney
Someone's feeling unhinged today. What's wrong with liking MM over OoT or vice versa? Seriously, man. You're acting like everyone here is insulting and belittling others for liking OoT more. No one here is doing that. Just like this article and the previous ones, they're only publishing their thoughts, likes, and dislikes. It's all just statements of which you prefer after all. As long as it isn't harmful to you or anyone else, then what's wrong with expressing your opinion?
Also, why is it bad to prefer story over gameplay? Not only that's also a personal choice, but games require a little of both to be good regardless of what you say. Unless it's a competitive game, video games were made to showcase both since the infancy of game development. Without a story, then you'll just wander the world aimlessly not knowing what or where to go.
By the way, I'm one of those people that think the story has slightly more importance than gameplay. I've always been the one that enjoys getting engaged in the world and characters. It's the reason why I like MM more. I love the pre-apocalyptic atmosphere, villagers going through different emotions till the final day, and quests that expand some of the characters. All this motivates me to care for everyone and to do whatever I can to help them. Oot's story is fine, but it's basic compared to MM. Overall, it's just a slightly more expanded version of ALttP.
Ocarina of Time is much better. But A Link to the Past and Breath of the Wild are even better than both.
Pretty soon the hot take is going to be that Oot > MM.
@JayJ Totally agree, MM it's a much more niche game. That "roguelike" system may of your taste or not, and I didn't like it.
Also, it recycles too much from the previous one.
Ocarina of Time ive beaten of the 3ds remake but ive never played Majora's Mask so i can't say if it's better or not but plan on playing it soon
I've always found Majora's Mask to be more enjoyable than OoT. I don't understand why so many people find OoT to be a better game because it never seemed to have as much life in it to me.
I was there on day 1 for both games. OoT was a masterpiece when it released. The story was epic, it was groundbreaking and felt “mainline”, not like a side quest that was MM. I enjoyed both games but MM really just felt like a cash grab with a decent story since it used many many assets from OoT.
@SNESDisney if they won't push it, i will, because this is absurd--do you read books exclusively for the technical skills exhibited by the author? do you watch movies only for the filmmaker's skills? you could just as easily argue a story is a useless vessel for both of those things, and it would ring the exact same way as what you're saying. acting like games should only exist for the sake of gameplay is asinine and a ridiculously constrictive worldview--the game literally has "Legend" in the title, are you expecting the story not to be a focus? do you think RPG players are playing for the gameplay alone?
get off of your backseat game design chair, wipe off the glasses so rosy-tinted they're practically pink diamond at this point. i couldn't care if one game is better than the other (and I agree "best game" pissing matches are ridiculous, but that is literally any fanbase on anything with sequels), but story informs both the pacing and structure of both of these games, to act like it's just background information is insanely disingeuous
"when your personal bias/bitterness/jealousy/favoritism starts meddling with reality" people talk about the games they like? people like the aspects of the games they like? you're acting like your opinion is some Objective One True Truth About Video Gaming when it's just as much a throwaway opinion as any other in this comment section, why the high horse?
Removed - unconstructive
They are truly a pair. Majora takes Ocarina and adds intricacies. But you have to experience Ocarina to fully appreciate those intricacies. Play both, for sure.
Both are great. Ocarina took the best of Link's Awakening and ALttP and introduced so many cool real life stuff. Just chasing chickens, wearing masks, racing Epona and shooting arrows, making frogs grow by playing different notes on the ocarina, there are some really fun things to do outside the main game. Nowadays when I play OoT, the dungeons are my least favorite part of the game since there isn't much freedom to how you can complete them.
Majora's Mask is a great game that I hated when it first came out. I was annoyed that I had to spend $40 on an Expansion Pak just to play it, but in retrospect at least I got to own it. 😄 The game had too many things I didn't get at first, maybe because I never saw the Back to the Future trilogy and realized that Link is basically Marty and the Traveling Mask Salesman is Doc. The characters are the same from OoT but in this warped reality that really forces you to not only understand their motivations, fears and desires, but brings you so close to their experiences that you actually become them. It's a very experimental game that I didn't appreciate until now.
Honestly I liked Ocarina of Time more because the time limit sucked on Majora's Mask, it made exploration in Majora's very difficult, although I will say that Marjora taught me how to solve puzzles quicker and how to search for clues on how to beat the next puzzle.
Ok... confession. I played maybe 5 hours into Majora and had to stop. I've tried a few more times throughout the years but never got any farther. It's just so... depressing. Everything in the game, the world, the people, the quests that end and its all just sad. It made me sad. Couldn't do it. Glad everyone here likes it, but man...
@Friendly 3D = 3D. Third is "3rd".
MM and OOT are classics, but why isn't Nintendo releasing the remastered 3DS versions, or better yet, making remasters for the Switch. The graphics on these games were great for their time, but are pretty rough on the eyes these days.
At the end of the day, we can all agree that Windwaker was the worst Nintendo-made Zelda game (we don't talk about Bruno... I mean the Phillips CDI games)
@SNESDisney With all due respect, it's an opinion, not propaganda. You've also posted many comments on here with your opinions, which are no more valid than anyone else's when it comes to the topic of "why I think one video game is better than another video game."
@Rhaoulos ah, never realised that. Tnx!
I've tried and failed SO many times (okay, maybe like 3 at most) to play Ocarina of Time, but I just can't get into that game. At the same time, I've always wanted to play Majora's Mask because it just seemed so much more interesting, but because of my out-of-control OCD I can't play it without finishing the other one first. Maybe I should go buy it on my 3DS while I still have the time and then never play it. Or the other one.
@ShadowofTwilight22 Nah. Oot is an 7/10 game. It was in 98, and it is now in 2022. Probably one of the most overrated games of the last 30 years. It's not a bad game, it just doesn't deserve most of the praise it gets. Certainly not one of the best Zelda Games made.
I played both on my 3DS, they were the second two Zelda games I played after A Link Between Worlds. I played through OoT first and loved it, and then I started playing through MM and man oh man... I don't think I was quite old enough at the time to really process the dark themes that game was dealing with but I certainly picked up on the atmosphere, especially in the final boss.
I replayed OoT in Master Quest mode, although I don't remember if I ever beat it. The shadow temple was the hardest dungeon for me the first time around and in Master Quest I think it got the better of me. I think I started replaying Majora's Mask but never beat it. Watching theory videos on them later and honestly reading a fair amount of fanfiction really brought home to me how me how much I love both, but especially MM. Thematically it's one of the most mature games I've ever played, right up there with DDLC and Celeste. The time mechanic was always fascinating to me, and I remember all the dungeons to this day.
So they're both great games, but trying to compare them isn't the easiest since they're trying to do different things. I believe I personally enjoyed Majora's Mask more. Ocarina of Time is a pleasent memory I don't think much about, but I will catch myself reflecting on the story of Majora's Mask.
@kurtasbestos That's how it was for me too, I refused to play MM until I beat OoT. To be honest, Majora's Mask is the sequel, but it doesn't carry over a whole ton from the original game in terms of story. If you really want to try Majora's Mask, maybe just watch a story summary of Ocarina of Time on YouTube first. They're different enough games that they can be enjoyed as separate experiences.
@iLikeUrAttitude its an unpopular opinion, because enough people have finally played it outside of the hype bubble that filled the nostalgia wind bag have finally been displaced in number. Additionally with enough remasters and vc for both games a clearly perspective was had. Oot is good, but it really didn't do much for gaming in the long or even short run. It just managed to be a good n64 game which was rare in those days. By time that game came out we had all manner of 3d adventure games with similar systems and second analog support that it kind of makes the praises of the game a bit lack luster. I was already playing many bangers by time oot released that the importance of the title was it merely was a 3d Zelda that made a lesser story to that of alttp. Majora did something interesting with that achievement. Which is why people are coming around to the fact that oot was just 3d alttp for hand me down gamers who's older siblings moved onto playstation. To add insult to injury other Zelda have done it better since.
Its a good game, just not worthy of its praise. I think the 3ds remakes shined a light on that.
@NotSoCryptic No it definitely isn't an unpopular opinion anymore, you're a couple decades late for that.
I'm not sure about how heavily OoT impacted gaming as a whole at least compared to games like Mario 64, but to say it didn't impact it at all couldn't be further from the truth.
I don't care for doing the same thing over & over, or repeating the same environment, etc, so MM never really did it for me. It didn't feel like a Zelda proper. More like a B side track. Same reason i don't care for rogue like/lite.
@Sourcecode same, i was there real time, too, for both releases, & i felt exactly the same.
Majoras Mask I may be the most overrated game of all time. It’s got an extremely interesting story and the core of its gameplay is interesting in theory, but in reality it is the most tedious game in existence. It is just one gigantic fetch quest. It is a fetch quest that endlessly repeats, and punishes you for your lack of attention to detail of that fetch quest. For goodness sake your most valuable tool in this game is a notebook that allows you to keep track of your long list of fetch quests. If you love this game then grocery shopping and running errands must be one heck of an adventure for you, because that’s what this game’s gameplay boils down to. Listen, I can admit that this may be the best story of the entire Zelda franchise. If all of their stories were turned into movies, this one would and should win the Oscar. And I can appreciate it for that. But as far as gameplay goes this is the worst in the series for me.
I totally agree, Majora's Mask is amazing. It's one of my favourite game of all times. OoT was mind blowing but it feels very bland in comparison to Majora's Mask madness.
The dungeons are also the best of the series IMO. I like how you have to consider them as a whole thing instead of just separate rooms. Btw I lobe the water temple which is very similar in concept.
“ Some Of Us Prefer Zelda: Majora's Mask Over Ocarina Of Time Because We're Right”
You realize this isn’t a “fact”, right?
You literally said, “Some of us have an opinion on which video game is better, because it’s a fact.”
Like??????
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